Columbia Student Emma Sulkowicz Brings Mattress to Graduation

Half a year after her story made it to national headlines, Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz has graduated from university, where her art project “Carry that Weight” garnered praise and criticism.

“Carry that Weight”, a performance piece where Sulkowicz carried a mattress with her around the Columbia campus, began as a response to her rape by another Columbia student. She vowed to carry the mattress with her so long as her rapist was allowed to remain on campus, a symbol of protest after Columbia and the NYPD failed to investigate her accusations.

Her protest, which doubles as a piece of performance art, stayed with Sulkowicz at her graduation, where she with the help of several classmates, carried it across the stage.